The defense of nature is often quite difficult and full of restrictions. The Druid in Baldur’s Gate 3 is one of the classes with the highest number of restrictions in the game but offers a ton of value in return.
With the ability to transform into animals and cast spells from a varied and powerful spell list, the Druid is a powerful character. But choosing the right race and correct ability score spread is going to be critical to your survival early on. The restrictions imposed on the druid make you more reliant on your foundation. So, let’s build that sturdy foundation.
The Druid is a support or damage-dealing caster in Baldur’s Gate 3. Similar to the Cleric, it has some strong healing and buff magic. It cannot, however, wear metal armor, lowering its Armor Class. It compensates for that with the ability to turn into animals and cast highly effective crowd control spells like Entangle to mess with the battlefield. The spells that a Druid can cast are much more aggressive than what a Cleric has to offer, making the Druid a strange midpoint between Cleric and Wizard in terms of aggression and durability.
Best races for the Druid in BG3
Races that grant proficiency in martial weapons can be hugely useful for a Druid looking to fight. Because of that, we think that the Drow might be one of the best Druids around. Rapier and Hand Crossbow proficiency can carry the young Druid until it gets spellcasting. Then, free Perception proficiency, Superior Darkvision, and resistance to some magical debuffs come in handy during the mid and late-game. But other races—such as the Half-Orc—can help to supplement the Druid’s melee setup and give them more utility in unique ways.
The Drow works best for a druid looking to move into the melee sphere without using the Circle of the Moon. Land and Spore Circle druids really do appreciate racial bonuses, so having a fantastic Dexterity weapon and a valid ranged option—that adds Dexterity to damage–is great for them. As strong as Shillelagh is, having another option for a cantrip isn’t a bad idea.
There are a few other races with great steps into the Druid’s field, however.
- Tieflings add some firepower to the Druid’s out-of-combat toolkit, with Mephistopheles Tieflings bringing Mage Hand to the Druid’s spell list.
- Wood Elves have the same Perception proficiency as Drow, but replace their weapons with slightly more powerful Dexterity-based ranged options. They also come with an extra 5ft (1.5m) of movement speed, which is super handy no matter your Druid.
- As we mentioned above, Half-Orcs pepper the Spores Druid’s playstyle with extra durability, fantastic critical hit damage, and darkvision. Relentless Endurance is also great for any healer, including a Druid of the Land.
- Gold Dwarves provide extra HP and some darkvision. Despite their lower movement speed, Gold Dwarves make solid Circle of the Moon druids with their additional health and defenses against magic for situations where you get knocked out of Wild Shape.
Sadly, Druids who plan on taking Circle of the Moon care significantly less about their race compared to Land or Spores druids. In those cases, we prefer races that are more durable for emergency situations, rather than focusing on any additional utility. The Wild Shape provides a shocking amount of utility early on, after all.
Related: Baldur’s Gate 3: All race bonuses in BG3
Best ability scores for the Druid in BG3
Once you have your race figured out, the Druid of BG3 has a pretty set-in-stone ability score setup of Strength 10, Dexterity 14, Constitution 16, Intelligence eight, Wisdom 16, and Charisma 10. For Circle of the Spore Druids, you can bump Dexterity to 16 and Constitution to 14 to improve your effectiveness with the Rapier or other Finesse weapons, if you want. In addition, Druids that wish to get away from the frontlines can get to Strength eight and bump either Intelligence to 10 or Charisma to 12, depending on the goal of the build.
Let’s talk about why we’ve set our ability scores like this, so you feel more comfortable with playing with your options.
- Druids use Wisdom for magic. Plain and simple. Many Druid spells require enemies to make saving throws, such as Entangle. They also tend to use Wisdom for damage a lot, such as with the Shillelagh cantrip. Having it at a high number is a good idea to guarantee that enemies sustain a lot of damage from your magic or fail to save against your powerful effects. Even for Druids planning on using Circle of the Moon to Wild Shape, you want your Concentration spells—like Call Lightning—to be effective during the fight.
- Constitution both keeps the Druid alive and sustains Concentration spells. Since your concentration save is incredibly important, and Druids have a lot of strong concentration spells, you’re going to want to have a high Constitution. This also contributes to your health pool, which you want to be relatively high. Druids have access to good enough healing spells to keep the whole party alive when used carefully.
- Dexterity is important to have at 14, and 16 in specific situations. At 14 Dexterity, your Druid has a pretty good initiative modifier. They also fit well into Hide Armor, a Medium armor that is, by default, the strongest Druid armor outside of magical items. So, this caps your AC, buffs your Initiative, and lets you dodge spells with the highly important DEX save. But, for Circle of the Spore Druids, relying on the Shillelagh cantrip can become unreliable. This also lets you safely use Leather Armor, of which there are many magical variants that are useful to Spores and Land druids. This means you’ll lose one health per level, however, and be weaker with concentration saves. Choose 16 Dexterity with caution.
- Strength, Intelligence, and Charisma really don’t matter. Strength is used for athletics, Charisma can be nice for when you talk with animals, and Intelligence does really not much at all. Your other party members will almost certainly handle skill checks with these stats much better. We recommend keeping Strength and Charisma at 10 but feel free to drop them lower to make the other larger or put a stat like Dexterity to an odd number.
Related: Baldur’s Gate 3: Best classes and subclasses in BG3
